


If It Weren't for You Meddling Kids

by IdrisSmith



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: And Decided It Was a Great Time to Procrastinate, Angst, Author Had Limited Internet Access, Background Jessika/LIFE, Background Phasma/Jannah, Background Roux, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, References to Depression, Reylo - Freeform, Reylo Prompt, There's No Reason, This Deals with Heavier Topic Than Expected, Who Knows?, With Fluff?, background finnpoe - Freeform, i don't know what to tag, tw: depression
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-10
Updated: 2020-01-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22191796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdrisSmith/pseuds/IdrisSmith
Summary: They've known each other for a while. No, Ben and Rey knew each other for two years, but by some miracle or by choice, they barely talk to each other despite sharing friends. After spending way too much time giving Ben and Rey space to figure out their obvious feelings towards each other, their friends had had enough. It was getting sad to watch them flail around each other like they were star-crossed lovers and it had to end with either the two wising up or killing each other. Hux would like to point out he didn't quite agree with the plan.Curious Cat Prompt: "Ben and Rey's friends decide to take matters in their own hands to get them to admit there are feelings for each other.  Locking them in the basement for 48 hours should do the trick."
Relationships: Ben Solo | Kylo Ren/Rey, Ben Solo/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	1. Last Resort

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a light fluff with 3,000 words or less and then brain said; let's torture characters. So, now it's a multi-chapter. I have some regrets. Not BETA'd. All mistakes are mine. Also, if you're new... I don't really write smut. I mean, I tried, but that fried my brain and _that_ story (for a different fandom) is still in limbo after who knows how long. But hey, if you enjoy non-smut locked in together fic, I hope you like this.

_This is not happening._ Ben thought privately. They weren’t children playing around until one of them decided they wanted to pull a stupid prank on their friend. Heck, he wasn’t even a teenager. He was an adult for fuck’s sake, and he didn’t have the time to play along with whatever ploy his friends came up with to torture him.

“I swear to God, Dameron, I will break the fucking door if you don’t let us out!” screamed Ben as he pounded on the thick wooden door. How they tricked him into the room in the first place was beyond him. Somehow, despite having lived as long as he had, he was still gullible. Or it was safe; he knew this place. Heck, he spent a lot of time growing up within its walls. Sure, he hadn’t gone back for a while whenever his friends decided to go on a trip to the summer house, but that didn’t mean he was a stranger to it. He didn’t know what possessed him to agree to come this year. And no, he didn’t want to talk about how one of his oldest friends managed to guilt-trip him into going for a group trip.

Who the hell goes on group trips?

Poe fucking Dameron, of course. And he roped Hux into it.

A note slipped under the door. Ben grunted before leaning down to pick up the piece of paper. He didn’t want to be part of whatever his soon-to-be ex-friends planned. It was stupid; he should have stayed in the city and enjoy his lonesome weekend. But no, he decided to turn a new leaf and spend time with them. The friends somehow got him trapped into the wine cellar. Nevermind the place was temperature-controlled, and he wouldn’t die there, short-term. At least, he didn’t think he would.

_ We’re not letting either of you out until you two talk _ . Ben read the note and scoff. Immediately, reminded that he wasn’t alone in the room. He was going to kill Poe, slowly and painfully, he deserved nothing but torture.

“They’re not letting us go.” He grimaced, handing her the note which she took looking just as agitated considering she was trapped too. “I don’t even know what they want for us.” That was a lie, but Rey didn’t need to know that. Yes, his friends, Hux—fucking Hux—included thought it was a great idea to lock up  _ him  _ with Rey. He should have known better than to get pissed drunk around them and say a bunch of shit he couldn’t take back. But, he was celebrating, so his guard was down, his old boss was finally in jail. It took three years of trial, most of which his involvement kept on the down-low as part of the deal he made to turn in his former boss. He didn’t need any more press; he had too much of them.

“How long do you think we’ll be here?” 

He shrugged in response to her question. “I’m not sure, but I’m killing them all the moment they choose to release me.”

“Great, I’ll help you hide the bodies,” replied Rey dryly.

At last, Ben managed a chuckle. He recognised the predicament he was in, but the fact that Rey was not freaking out as much as he was made him felt a little less anxious. His eyes roamed around, looking at the assortment of wines carefully lined on the wall. Hux’s father was an asshole, but he was an asshole with expensive taste. If Ben had to guess, not being a heavy drinker himself or wine enthusiast, everything in the room costs at least over a couple million. It was a hazard guess based on the time when he and Hux broke a bottle when they were kids where Hux senior looked like he could kill his own son. Not even his parents had the collection, granted his father collected cars. And he knew for a fact that his father wouldn’t kill him over a car.

“No one will find them,” he agreed, his tone still laced with amusement and mischief despite how stressed he was feeling.

Then, it set in, the awkward silence. Ben remembered that it was the most they talked since the two of them met. And that was over three years ago. The only reason why they tend to be around each other was that two of their friends are engaged to be married to each to each other with the rest approaching matrimony soon. He knew Hux would propose to Rose soon and sworn to secrecy.

“Right,” he said, breaking the silence as he distanced himself a little further from her. It was easier for his sanity if they’re not to close.

“You know, I don’t bite.” Her chuckle sounded like music. Fuck, he was turning into a damn sap. She didn’t even realise she had that effect on him. “I know we don’t really hang out, but I don’t have cooties or anything.”

He barked a laugh. “Cooties?” There was a noticeable trace of mirth in his tone when he spoke again. “What are you? Five?”

“Well, you avoid me like I have the black plague since we met, what do I know?” she answered with a shrug and made that stupid face that caused his brain to short-circuit. Everything about her made it difficult for him to be normal—his version of normal. He was awkward but not  _ that _ awkward that he didn’t know how to talk to a woman. It was  _ her. _ For whatever reason, she left him tongue-tied from the moment they met. The first time he spoke to her, she looked at him as if she was offended by his presence.

“I wasn’t avoiding you.” It was a lie; he knew it was a lie. The truth was, it was easier _not_ to get to know her. He had a lot of things going on when they first met, and as messed up as his mind was at the time, he didn’t think it was fair to rope someone into his shitty life choices. Now, he didn’t have that excuse, but he doubted she would be interested in someone in their mid-thirties. No, he very much doubted she would be interested in someone in his mid-thirties with a boatload of issue. “We just don’t have that much in common.”

It was her turn to laugh. “You barely spoke two words to me whenever you’re around me. How do you know we have nothing in common?”

Fuck, he hated that she made a valid point. But, he wasn’t going to back down. If he let her close, she would see him for who he was and run for the hills. Having her around, even at arm’s length was comforting. “Engineer.” He pointed at her. Yes, he knew what her job was. “Currently unemployed.” He turned his thumb in his direction, not bothered to highlight how he was a bum who was living off a trust fund. It was always going to take time for him to find his bearings again and after his epic downfall, he wondered if he was going to be alright ever again. “I highly doubt there’s anything we can talk about.” 

For someone who had very minimal interaction with her, he knew way too much about her. If she was surprised to find out he knew what she did for a living, she didn’t show it. All she did was eyed him with an unreadable look that he never quite understand.

“You do realise there are other things we can talk about, yes?” She sounded exasperated when she spoke again. 

“Probably, but given our very different upbringing,—” they had wildly different backgrounds, and it was painfully obvious. Ben (and Hux) never even set foot in half the places they frequent now before they crossed paths with Poe during their freshman year at college. Despite their differences, however, they did become friends. “—I don’t think so.”

“You’re a snob,” she scolded, he shrugged. Making her think he was an unforgivable ass was easier. He wanted to believe it was the best choice he made in regards to their relationship. If he could call whatever it was  _ that. _

It wasn’t the reason why he didn’t want to be around her. But, it was an excellent way to keep her away from him. She clouded his judgement and made him want to be  _ better _ . It wasn’t a bad thing to be a better person than he was—no. He just didn’t have anything to offer her, another thing he was painfully aware of that. He can’t buy her, and she wasn’t impressed by his background. While he didn’t feel threatened with how hard she worked to get to where she was, it also made him felt undeserving of someone like her even to try. 

There was also the fact that she wasn’t interested. So, self-preservation kicked at the moment Ben realised that fact.

“How long do you think they’ll keep us here?” She asked, and he was aware she was now moving to the other side of the room, surprisingly still talking to him even when she chastised him earlier.

“Not sure,” he admitted. “If it’s Hux, two hours at most. If it’s Poe, he’s a sadist, who knows how long.” 

She was laughing. Ben wasn’t trying to be funny, and she was laughing. It took him by surprise, leaving him starring at her like a fool. He was approaching dangerous territory, and all the alarm bells in his head went off at full volume.

“At least they make sure we have food?” she gestured towards the long table. An assortment of non-perishable snacks and water (Ben was tempted to open a bottle but knew that alcohol, him, Rey and confined spaces would be a recipe for disaster) piled high on it.

“A week’s worth?” He threw in a guess.

She snorted. “More like a couple of days at most.” 

He smirked, shaking his head, hearing her admission. They were around each other enough for him to know that, but sometimes he forgot that she could eat twice as much as he did. How she managed to cramp all the food into her was still a mystery. “That means they thought to keep us here for a couple of days then.”

She nodded.

“I guess I’ll keep out of your way.” How he planned to do that with the limited space was yet to be determined. It’s a wine cellar in a house, not a winery. 

“Thanks…”

He caught how her tone seemed to change, but chuck it to her being uncomfortable around him. It wasn’t new; there was always that wall around them. A wall which he helped build over the years. He glanced at his watch, trying to focus on something, anything other than her. They were in there for at least fifteen minutes. He started to feel the ache in his hand, result from him pounding the door earlier. It made him nearly regret acting like an idiot, but at least he had something else to focus on. Something that was not her.


	2. A Plan in Motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a waiting game for everyone whether it was their friends who trapped them in the wine cellar located in the basement or them, who had to stay in the said cellar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not BETA'd, all mistakes are mine. And yes, Hux is a dramatic lil' shit.

“She’s gonna murder us,” murmured Hux as he paced in front of his friends. “No, they’re going to murder us and hide our bodies. No one will find us.”

Poe, who was sitting comfortably on the large couch chuckled easily. Next to him, Finn was shaking his head at Hux’s panic display. They all knew that Hux had no qualms pissing Ben off whenever he felt like it. It was pretty much how their friendship worked over the years. For those who didn’t know the two, they probably thought Ben and Hux were enemies, but no, it was how they communicate with each other. The sort of language only a life-long friendship and hardship two kindred people shared. 

“Don’t worry, babe,” said Rose, amused. “I’ll protect you from Rey.”

Oh, yes, the hardass, the no-nonsense man, was terrified of Rey. No one could blame him. But, it was an extenuating circumstance as Phasma put it. They needed to _do_ something because if they don’t, the two idiots they called friends would never figure it out.

“It’s not funny, Rose.” Hux was huffing. “I can handle Ben, but Rey would claw my eyes out, I know it!”

“Oh relax, you big baby,” admonished Phasma. She looked at ease, leaning into her girlfriend. Then again, she would be relaxed since she could put everyone in their place without even trying. The air of confidence Phasma exuded was like no other. She was in a league of her own. “They need to talk it out or fuck it out of their system. I can’t do another one girl’s night out ending with Rey pining over Ben.”

“It was disgusting,” supplied Jannah, rolling her eyes as she spoke. “We gave them both a chance to figure it out themselves for two years. But, my wedding is soon, and I need my friends not to act like they’re facing a death sentence during the ceremony.”

“I’m glad you have your priorities sorted there.” Hux sounded bitter.

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist, Hugs,” pipped Jessika. She was the only one there without a partner. Then again, Jessika was Jessika, and she didn’t need anyone. No one questioned her life choices seeing she wasn’t as unhinged as their currently two locked friends.

Hux narrowed his eyes at her. “Don’t.”

Finally, Rose got up from where she was sitting and calmly coax him to sit on the two-seater couch. She pulled him towards her, and he went willingly. It didn’t look like Hux would calm down easily. He was the hardest to convince out of the group with their plan. It started out as Jessika’s idea after spending yet another girl’s night with a very drunk Rey and dealing with the aftermath. None of the women could say no because unlike them, Jessika usually ended being the one looking after Rey because somehow drunk Rey meant everyone was drunk.

“Look at it this way,” said Poe, a little too enthusiastically. “If it works out, they’ll get married before the end of the year.” He looked around to see all of his friends shrugged, nodded or smirked in agreement. “If it doesn’t, Rose will find you a bunker somewhere to keep you safe, General Hugs.”

Finn was the first one who broke into a fit of giggles that soon turned into full-blown laughter. It didn’t take long for everyone else to follow. Even Hux managed a smile, just a smidge. It was clear he was still uneasy with the plan, but he chose the ‘wait and see’ method that might end up blowing up in his face.

“You better make good on that promise, Tico because I’ll be cashing it.”

The rest of the group shook their head when Hux conceded at the end. There was a good chance he would panic again later, but everyone seemed to silently agree that Rose will take care of her boyfriend’s mood swing when that happened.

“Well, it’s only been a couple of hours, right?” asked Jessika, glancing at her watch. “I haven’t heard screams, and the last time I check there was no blood coming through the door.” Hux winced at her words. “So, we can safely assume they’re both alive, for now.”

“Hey, I suggested installing a camera in there,” chimed Poe, but he didn’t get to say anything else when Phasma lunged a throw pillow at him.

“There’s such thing as a violation of privacy, moron,” said Phasma, annoyed.

“And locking them out is not illegal imprisonment?” challenged Poe, a smirk was evident on his face. “That’s right, lawyer lady, I know stuff.”

Phasma was rolling her eyes to another realm, clearly not interested in playing Poe’s game. “Fuck off, Dameron.”

“Just because you’re a perve, doesn’t mean everyone is,” teased Jessika lightly. “But, I wouldn’t mind seeing what Solo’s pack—”

“OH MY GOD!”

“MY EARS!”

“GROSS PAVA!”

“I DID NOT NEED TO HEAR THAT!”

“YOU NEED HELP!”

Rose, Finn, Jannah, Hux and Phasma all screeched out at the same time, sending Jessika dirty looks and several throw pillows tossed her way. Like always, Jessika took it all in stride and cackle loudly at how horrified her friends were while Poe raised his hand for a high five.

“POE!” Five people shouted in unison as the two biggest perverts in the group went on laughing.

They will have two long days to babysit their two idiot friends. Laughing about it as they tried not to question the morality of their action, in Jessika’s mind wasn’t such a bad thing. Not when they would soon need to take turns to ensure neither Ben or Rey committed first-degree murder during their—uh—imprisonment.

It was going to be a long couple of days; she knew that as she exchanged a quiet look with Poe. They were going to need to distract their overly jittery friends (Hux and Finn) and their too logical friends (Phasma) from pointing out the worst-case scenarios.

* * *

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he felt was being shaken awake. It took him a moment to remember where he was before he jerked away, stumbling away from the person who woken him up.

“Jesus, you don’t need to act like I carry a deadly virus,” complained Rey. She didn’t sound at all happy to be treated like she was doing something wrong when all she did was woke him up.

“Sorry,” said Ben, blinking the sleep that was still heavy on his eyelids. He hadn’t had a good night’s rest for a few weeks. Bad dreams kept him awake more often than Ben would like to admit. Of course, none of his friends knew the gravity of his inner struggle because he was holding it close to his chest. Everyone was happy; he didn’t need to inject any negativity (any more than he already had) into their lives. “You startled me.”

“You don’t say.” Rey’s tone w dripped with sarcasm. “Here, I thought I should wake you up and remind you to eat. You have to keep your energy up if you want to commit mass murder.”

He felt the muscle in his face tightened as he fought with several emotions coming to the surface, not knowing which one to display. In the end, he settled with his usual impassive expression as he accepted the packed sandwich and bottled water handed to him. “Thanks.” Well, his parents raised him with manners.

“You’re welcome,” said Rey.

Ben noticed she didn’t move away immediately, which baffled him. She was staring at him openly, and it felt as if he was under a microscope. If he weren’t careful, she would be able to see what he was hiding. “What?” he said, louder than he intended. “Do I have something on my face?”

He watched as her face flushed and she moved away from him this time. But, halfway across the room, she turned to him. “You have a bit of drool, just there.” She told him as pointing to the corner of her lips, indicating where he could find the evidence of sleep on his.

There wasn’t any time for him to be distracted by her, but he found time as his brain played catch up. When he regained his faculty, he was wiping his mouth hastily. Embarrassment was evident on his face. “Thanks,” he muttered under his breath. Somehow, drooling in his sleep didn’t register as something that would turn him several shades of red. He could use more rest.

They ate in silence for a while, taking a bite from their meals. When Ben's mind caught up with everything and no longer under extreme distress (he wasn’t going to lie to himself, he, to a degree, still was), he began to check on his person slowly. Only realising belatedly of two facts, he didn’t have his phone with him and even if he did, given that the wine cellar was in the basement, there wouldn’t be a signal down there.

He watched Rey tense posture from where he was sitting. Part of him hoping that his friends would take pity on them and let them out sooner rather than later. Though, knowing them, _knowing Poe_ , it was not likely. He rechecked his watch and realised he somehow managed a solid five-hour sleep. A five-hour interrupted sleep which he had not had in weeks. It also meant that they likely have a little over forty hours left trapped there.

“I sort of wish they have a countdown clock in here.” Rey’s voice broke him from his thoughts. He stopped chewing absentmindedly and turn to look in her direction. She, apparently, had scarfed down her meal while he was taking his sweet time with his. “I mean, they took the time to make sure we have food, why not go tacky on us?”

“It’s probably Phas,” he offered. “I wouldn’t put it pass Poe to suggest exactly that only to find her in his path.” 

Rey chuckled, the sound echoed through the room. “Well, at least they’re not monitoring us.”

Ben’s eyes flickered around the room again. It would be easy for Hux to install some sort of spy cam in there, but it looked like Rey was right. Their friends neglected to do that as well. Just what exactly were they hoping the two of them would do? An idea did cross his mind, but he brushed it off faster than anyone can say flyboy.

“I’m not sure if that was a good thing,” he said grimly. “Maybe they just don’t want any evidence of your murdering me.”

“You sound so sure I can take you out,” said Rey, smirking. Joking about killing each other shouldn’t be a thing, but they were stuck there, and that was a safe territory for Ben. He wondered how messed up he was to prefer thinking of ways she could murder him and their friends to cover up his murder than the alternatives. Oh, he thought of the alternative — just the one.

“Are you doubting your abilities to mime me, Niima?” Was he flirting? He wasn’t flirting, right?

Yet, the blush that bloomed on Rey’s face told him otherwise. Maybe they deser—no. He can’t think about that. He returned to chewing his food, finishing the last of the sandwich he didn’t notice included among the food. Rey must have chosen to consume that first seeing it might go bad before the rest of their provision. 

“Tell me about yourself.” She spoke again after a long silence. Seconds felt stretched to minutes, but he prefered the silence. He wasn’t ready for her to start having a conversation with him. “We might as well talk seeing we’ll be here a while. Unless you wanted to go back to sleep.”

Ben swallowed thickly, chugging the water down. It didn’t look like he had much choice. If Ben kept his silence, he would go mad. If he talked to Rey, he would—he wasn’t sure what would happen. Other than her reading him, which was not something he wanted. Still, he couldn’t stop himself. 

“What do you want to know?”


End file.
